


We Build Our Castles in the Sand

by May_Guimaraes



Category: Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Adoption, Everyone Thinks They're Together, F/M, Family, Friends to Lovers, No Shadowhunter AU, OC, friends - Freeform, kinda mostly fluff, parenting, they're idiots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-06-03 06:58:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6601285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/May_Guimaraes/pseuds/May_Guimaraes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Julian and Emma try to navegate the weird waters of being secretly in love with each other, while trying to raise his niece who came to them after a tragedy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. History repeats itself (kind of)

**Author's Note:**

> So, I had this idea while reading a Hawkeye² fic, I hope you guys like, it's a no shadowhunters AU, and while the family dynamics of the Blackthorn it's kinda the same it's different for the obvious reasons...
> 
> Really hope you guys like this!! I own no one!!
> 
> This is not beta'd so please be kind.

Emma never really thought her life would be as crazy as it was right now, and on her 25 years on earth she had some really screwed up things happen to her, but the past four months take the cake. Not that she’s complaining or that it was all bad. Just not in a million years how she would have pictured her life going.  
She was orphaned at the age of 12 and left in the care of her best friend’s uncle, because the same car crash that killed her parents also killed Julian’s father, his mother had died a few years before that, right after giving birth to her last child. Now, the Blackthorns were the closest thing she had left resembling a family. So she and six of the Blackthorns became wards of Uncle Arthur after tragedy struck. Helen also stayed for a while, but the oldest sibling had just begun college a few hours away, so she couldn’t stay with them.

Of course being Emma’s life, things couldn’t just run smoothly after that, and soon they figured out that Arthur wasn’t really fit to be no one’s guardian, let alone of seven grieving children. Afraid of being separated, she and Julian came up with a plan to cover up his uncle’s short comings and keep the family together. Mark, his older brother, wasn’t much help, he was on his senior year of high school, and too caught up on his own grieve and the need to get away from the memories of happier times to really pay attention to what was going on around him. So the burden to care for the four younger Blackthorn siblings fell on Emma and Julian’s too young shoulders.

Now, almost 14 years later Emma sees herself being burdened again with a responsibility that she’s not really ready to take, but can’t run from it. As responsibilities go, hers hadn’t changed much since they took control of the family 13 years ago, but the twins are fully grown and about to finish some weird masters in computer related subjects on MIT, Dru is finishing film school in New York and Tavvy is beginning his last year of high school on the boarding school he chose to go to after Dru left for college, so other than worrying about them, she didn’t’ have all that many left.

She and Julian never really had the will or freedom to leave Los Angeles, the both went to college at UCLA, choosing not to leave in the dorms and stay at home with the kids. Jules, being the artist that he is, majored on something she really didn’t try to understand on his field, and now works from the studio he has on what was supposed to be the pool house of the home they bought to share after college, overlooking the ocean, on the cliffs of Santa Monica. Emma herself was a family lawyer on a high power firm downtown. Her life may seem odd to other people, but she shares a nice house with her best friend, gets to do something she really enjoys for a living and all the people she cares about are well taken care off.

What brings her back to four months ago, all the younger Blackthorns were home for the winter holidays and preparing to go back to the new school semester, when some really terrible news came. Mark, who was living in Hawaii for the past eight years with his husband Kieran, got into a boating accident that killed the couple, leaving their newborn daughter, Eleanor, behind. Julian flew to Hawaii to get the little girl and bring the bodies back to be buried with the rest of the family in the plot they had.

So, that brings Emma to her current situation, because with Mark and Kieran dead, and the second with no living relatives, and Helen stuck in the Artic doing research with her wife Aline, the only ones left capable of taking care of that poor little girl are her and Julian. Yes, sure, they had some experience with children, but none of them ever took care of an infant. So now, four months after tragedy struck the family again, they’re finally getting somewhere resembling a schedule again.  
Ellie has just started sleeping through the night, so Emma and Julian can finally organize themselves accordingly, with Jules taking the last feed and change around midnight and Emma taking the first one in the morning, staying with her until it was time to leave for work, he would take her then and take care of her during the day, and they would take turns when they were both at home. Emma also started the habit of bringing more work home, so she could spend less and less time at the office, because she felt it was not fair to leave Julian alone with the baby all the time, even when he said that he didn’t mind, and that Ellie was his responsibility, not hers, she tended to ignore him when he started talking non sense like take and wrote it off as sleep deprivation.

But Emma’s real problem nowadays it’s that, with being so dependent of each other, and being as close as ever, is getting increasingly difficult to hide that she’s completely, head over heels in love with Julian. She’s always been really, she tried very hard to get over him, and to move on, but in the end, she just knew, he is the love of her life, and there’s no getting over that. The thing is, that she would never jeopardize their friendship with her unwanted declaration of affection, so she keeps things as they are and life goes on, only it’s not so easy when people keep mistaking you for a couple on the streets and saying that you have an adorable family.


	2. The New Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Julian navigate their new reality with a new baby at home and all the difficulties that come with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I'm really sorry about not posting last week, but it was mother's day, then my grandma got kinda sick, anyway, life happened, but here I am with a brand new chapter to this story, I hope you guys enjoy it!!

It was just another week day, like just about any other from the past month, but the world appeared to be conspiring against Emma, first Ellie woke up much earlier than her usual 6:30AM, then nothing seemed to settle her down, and the baby just kept crying for no apparent reason, Emma was just about to start crying herself when Julian emerged from his room, looking gloriously rumpled, it was absolutely unfair for someone to wake up looking that amazing, especially when she was covered in spit up, her hair was a rat’s nest, and she was about to have a nervous breakdown.  
  
Taking the pitiful scene in front of him, Julian hurried to take his niece from Emma, sensing that his best friend was dangerously close to her breaking point and needed a little time off from child care.  
  
\- It’s okay Emma, go shower and get ready for work, I’ve got her. Sorry, I overslept a bit this morning.  
\- Thanks Jules, I don’t know what’s wrong with her, I changed her, fed her, even walked outside with her for a bit, but she’s absolutely restless this morning, and I’m feeling completely incompetent as one of her main caretakers right about now.  
\- Did you notice anything different with her this morning?  
\- Not really, she woke up a lot earlier than usual, and she was a bit fussy to eat, she didn’t even finish her bottle, but I thought it was just because she wouldn’t stop crying. She wasn’t warm or anything, I checked, I was about twenty minutes away from just driving her to the closest ER.  
\- I think maybe she’s colicky, she was a bit restless already when I put her to bed last night, it took much longer than usual for her to fall asleep.  
\- Oh, okay, do we have medicine for that? Emma asks looking a bit more relieved.  
\- We do, now go, I’ve got this, and I’m just about finished with my latest commission, so I don’t have a lot to do today. Besides, I have more experience with his than you.  
\- You know, just because you helped a little when Tavvy was this small doesn’t make you an expert, you were just 10, I doubt your dad let you be anywhere near him when he was like this, especially because he had Helen and Mark to help, they were older and much more qualified than you.  
\- You’ve got me there, but I’m not the one of us that has a job to get to, and that is already late.  
\- Oh shit, I didn’t realized it was this late already, I have this horrible custody case coming up and I need to do a lot more preparing for it than usual, one of the parents it’s this really powerful studio executive, and the divorce was already ugly enough, now he’s trying to get custody from the ex, just so he doesn’t have to pay alimony.  
\- Wow, that’s bad! Please tell me you’re representing the other one.  
\- What kind of heartless bitch do you think I am?  
\- Not heartless at all, I just know that sometimes you have to take some cases you don’t like because of the interests of the firm, because they’re some big corporate clients or stuff like that and need some family disputes cleared. So they pass it over to you, cause you’re the best.  
\- Thanks for understanding Jules, but thank god this time I’m not representing the asshole. I think I’d have clocked this guy in the face by now if he was my client.  
\- Knowing you, that’s a very high possibility. Okay, now really, go shower please, you’re smelling kind of bad.  
  
Emma teasingly hugs him before retreating into her bedroom to shower and get ready for her day, noticing that it was dangerously close to 9AM, and that she surely would be late for the meeting she had with one of the paralegals of the firm, who was helping her do the research she needed for this particular case, so she texted him letting him know, also texting her friend Cristina Rosales, pushing their lunch for a little later, just in case anything happened.  
  
Cristina was Emma’s second best friend, the one she always turned to when she needed boy advice, or Julian advice; which usually were one and the same, but Emma did manage to have some boyfriends here and there, though none of them ever had a future, mostly because she was madly in love with her best friend/roommate, and everyone could see it except for him apparently.  
  
They met during their undergraduate, bonded over boy problems, and the rest was history. Cristina even lived in the Blackthorn house for a while after her mom cut her off because of a fight, her tuition was covered by her academic scholarship, but housing wasn’t, so Emma, with the agreement of Julian, offered her Helen’s old room to stay until she had her life figured out, which only brought the girls closer together, and made Cristina understand even better the comings and goings of the Julian and Emma relationship.  
  
After Emma was ready to go, she stopped to say goodbye to Julian and Eleanor, that appeared to have finally calmed down after taking some medication.  
  
\- Seems like you really do have the magic touch. Teased Emma approaching them.  
\- No magic necessary, just access to some modern medicine and a lot of patience. Answered Julian while rocking Ellie back and forth in a continuous motion.  
\- I take she still doesn’t want to be still?  
\- No, - Julian sighs tiredly – every time I try to put her down she screams like a banshee, but I think she’ll get tired eventually, so I can do at least a little work today.  
\- Dream big buddy – Emma laughs. Anyway, I’m leaving now, but if you need anything just call okay, I’ll come help or whatever.  
\- I’ve got this, it’s not like I need to work today, I’m ahead of schedule and you have your lunch with Cristina today. Who am I to get between you and your best friend?  
\- You’re an idiot – Emma says shaking her head – We both know that that tittle it’s yours and only yours Jules, but a girl needs other girls to talk to from time to time, you can’t really understand the full complexity of the female psyche like she does. It just sucks that you were born a boy.  
\- Low blow Emma. Okay, go, I already have more than enough girl problems to deal with today – he says gesturing towards Elle – I have to call Livvy today too.  
\- Oh, send the twins a kiss for me, it’s been forever since I really talked to them.  
\- Okay, now go, before I kick you out.  
\- Okay, okay, I’m gone.  
  
With that Emma goes to her car and leaves, but not really, because part of her head stays, she’s really worried about Ellie, she never had anything like that before, and that makes Emma really anxious and feeling guilty about leaving them alone on their time of need. But she calms herself saying that if there was something really wrong with the baby Julian would have said so. He may be protective of her, and worry that his family troubles are taking over her life, but he knows that she loves Ellie, and would never do anything like that. With that in mind, she gets to work and let the grind of the day put her concerns in the backburner for a little while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I don't know when I'm gonna have the next chapter out because my grams is still not all that well and I'm taking care of her, and the muse is kinda mad at me, it's been a while since I've been able to write, but I hope within the next couple of weeks I'll have something for you guys!!
> 
> Comments and kudos feed the muse, don't forget it!!! 
> 
> Love ya!! Xoxo


	3. Perspective is always nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma goes to lunch with Cristina, and she points out some things that Emma doesn't necessarily wants to hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, here's another chapter, I really want to show that Emma and Cristina are really close and care a lot for each other!!
> 
> On the more professional note of thing, I'm neither a lawyer or a socil worker, most of what I know is from watching TV, so sorry for any horrible mistakes!!!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy it!!

For Emma, her work can be quite frustrating sometimes. Dealing with the pettiness and all the meaningless fighting for money and attention can seem absolutely pointless, especially to her that fought so hard along Julian to keep their family together as young teenagers. Seeing adults missing the real point of family and having to help them fight for whatever meaningless stuff they appear to care about can actually make her wan to punch some noses. Emma has always been a person of action, she rather scream at someone, or fight them, than agree with something she things is wrong or complacently see it happening and do nothing.  
  
That almost got her in trouble a few times in high school, before she finally learned how to properly control her temper. She remembers a time when she and Jules were juniors and the twins were freshman, she found some football players making fun of Ty, just because he was different, and needed the coping mechanisms Jules taught him, they were trying to take the little gadget Julian built Ty to help him calm himself. When Emma saw her mind kinda went red all over, and she just attacked them. There were a few broken noses and black eyes, Emma ended up with bloody knuckles and a three day suspension. The whole school knew not to mess with nay of the Blackthorn siblings after that.  
  
So after a long morning having to deal with asshole clients and learning how to win the one case she really gave a danm right now, she was ready to take a couple of hours to eat and catch up with her friend. Life was such a mess right now that it had been about a month since she saw Cristina last, and she was in deep need of some perspective, because she was really sure that she was losing control of her home situation, and delving into a thing with Julian that neither of them were fully aware or ready to happen, but what would she know? She’s been in love with him for years now and too afraid to actually do something about it in fear of   
losing his friendship and family forever.  
  
She left work a little later than planned, and when she walked into the restaurant they agreed to meet Cristina was already sat and was waiting for her to arrive.  
  
\- You’re late! Said Cristina raising her eyebrows and smirking at Emma.  
\- I know, sorry, I had this asshole opposing counsel call me as I was ready to leave, and no matter how many times I told him I had an appointment to get to he just kept talking, I ended up just hanging up the phone on his face, and kinda hightailed out of the office before he could call again.  
\- And that’s why I could never be a lawyer; I would probably end up telling one of these assholes to just fuck off.  
\- Actually, I did that a couple of times before, when I was sure I had the case, but this time I actually have to pay attention to him, at least for now, I’m trying to have him or his client to slip up and show me where their skeletons are, so I know where to attack, this case is still too much of a question mark for my taste, I feel like I can actually lose it, and that sucks, because that guy definitely does not deserve those kids, he’s just fighting cause he doesn’t want to pay child support. And besides, you deal with assholes all the time.  
\- Yes, but I don’t have to listen to what they have to say, they have to listen to me, or I can have their children taken away from them, that’s the only good part of being a social worker.  
\- Now, now Tina, you and I both know that you don’t think that, the only person I know that loves their job more than you is Jules, and his involve staying at home all day and doing the only thing he ever wanted to do.  
\- Yeah, okay, you’re right Ems. I love helping the kids, and helping them get to safer, happier places, it’s just that today sucked for me too. I had to take this kid from his mom, she’s a good mom and everything, but she just lost their house and is unemployed, and the kid ended up missing a bunch of days in school, so we had to put him in a group home, at least until she gets somewhere to live again, and because he’s too old we can’t even find him a proper foster home on such a short notice, and I don’t know, cases like this just suck.  
\- Tell me about it, when you tell me stories like that, it scares me half to death of what would have happened to me, or Jules, or all of the others if we didn’t do what we did, and if anyone had actually found out that uncle Arthur was kind of checked out for all the time we were with them.  
\- Yeah, those cases hit really close to home for you guys, and I guess for me too, because I know I only caught a glimpse of it while I was there during college, but I got to see how hard you and Julian worked to keep the family together, and it saddens me when I have to break up a loving family, just because fate dealt them a shitty hand.  
\- Anyway, enough depressing stuff for now, I’m starving.  
  
Just as Emma said that, a waitress appeared to take their orders. After orders had been placed, Cristina and Emma went to back to talking.  
  
\- So, tell me about Perfect Diego!  
\- I really wish you would stop calling him that, he’s far from it and we both know it.  
\- Okay, but how is he? Is your mom still pushing for you to marry him?  
\- He’s fine, asked me to dinner this week, I’m still not sure if I actually want to go, I’m still pissed. And yes, mom still thinks he would be the most perfect son-in-law ever. The perfect Rosales dynasty.  
\- It’s fucking creepy that you guys share the same last name. Are you sure you guys are not somehow related?  
\- Well, there’s like some really distant relation, but nothing that wanders into creepy territory. I bet if you dig around enough we can find some relation between you and Julian.  
\- Do not even joke about that, I think I’d throw myself from the cliffs if that was the case. Anyway, our relationship is already complicated enough without you coming up with stuff like that.  
\- How is Julian, by the way?  
\- He’s fine, has some commissions to finish and deliver soon, his dealer wants to do show sometime soon, but he’s stalling, says that he has his hands full enough with the work he has right now and Ellie. But he has been spending an ungodly amount of time in the studio, I don’t know, if he really is painting all the time he’s there, he should have enough for a show soon.  
\- Maybe he’s doing more personal pieces. Things he doesn’t want people to see, you’ve always said that there are some pieces he doesn’t even let you see.  
\- Yeah, but why is he like that now? It’s been like that for the past month or so, maybe he’s just trying to get away from Ellie and me. I’ve been spending way more time at home since Cameron and I broke up.  
\- I really doubt that, maybe he’s finally dealing with his feelings about Mark’s death, maybe he has some other feelings he needs to deal with right now, you know better than anyone, that’s how he deals with things – Emma nods agreeing – Why did you and Cameron break up anyway? You told me it was really over this time, but you never really told me why this time it’s definite.  
\- Well, to begin with, I got tired of the yoyo dating thing, and second, he started questioning my friendship with Julian, ad why I was so happy “playing house” with him, when I had just told him I wasn’t really ready to commit to anything more serious than just dating him. So I got pissed that he was pressuring me for more, and he got pissed that I didn’t take him seriously, so I decided it was time to just call it off for good.  
\- Oh Emma, you know that’s just going to keep happening until you do something about your feelings for Julian, right? All the guys you date will eventually question why they’re always second to him. So you have to either do something, or move on, this middle ground you are is not rally healthy and will end up getting a lot of people hurt.  
  
Before Emma has the chance to respond their lunch arrives. They eat in silence for a while, Emma processing the words Cristina just said, the impact they could have on her life. After quite a long time she says.  
  
\- I do know that Tina, but at the same time, doing something can fucking end me. What if I do tell him and he rejects me, and nothing is ever the same? What if I do something and I lose the only family I have left in this world? I mean, I know I have you, and Uncle Jem, but it’s not the same, they’ve been the only solid ground I know for so long, I’m not sure I know what I’d do with my life without them.  
\- First of all, if you think those kids will stop loving you just because you and Julian have a fight, you’re out of your mind. You are their mother Emma, the only mother they knew for the past 14 years, they’re not going anywhere, to put in terms you will understand in that crazy head of yours, Julian will not get sole custody if you guys were ever to divorce. They may be related to him, but they love you just as much. Second, you guys cannot be stuck in this make believe forever. You will either become something else, something more, or he’ll reject you, you’ll move on and go back to being best friends until you die, history like yours don’t just go away. Being on this limbo you’re now, just messes with your head.  
\- You’re right, I just need to find a way to tell him.  
  
They continue talking and eating for a while, before she knew it was time for Emma to go back to work, what she was definitely not looking forward to, because than she would have to return the call from the most obnoxious man ever, hopefully she could do it without telling him to stick something where the sun doesn’t shine. As they were saying good bye, her phone rang.  
  
\- Just tell Julian I said hi. Cristina says as she leaves Emma in the parking lot to answer the call.  
\- Hi Jules, something wrong? It was not usual for him to call her in the middle of the day.  
\- No, it’s just that I knew you were really worried about Ellie this morning, and I thought I’d call to tell you that she’s good now, the medicine worked like magic and she’s napping like an angel on her playpen on the studio.  
\- Thanks Jules, it’s good to know it’s not something more serious. Cristina sent you a hello; she left just as you were calling.  
\- Oh, okay, next time you talk to her, invite her to dinner here, it’s been far too long since I saw her, besides, I think Ellie kinda misses her.  
\- Yeah, good idea, I’ll probably talk to her soon, Perfect Diego asked her on a date and she’s still trying to decide if she’ll accept or not.  
\- I hope they figure it out, I think the truly likes her.  
\- He better, or I’ll have his balls.  
\- Okay Ems, see you tonight.  
\- See you.  
  
With that Emma returns to work, thinking about a way to put in practice what she and Cristina talked about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaay, that was the longest chapter so far!! Kudos and comments feed the muse and make this very insecure author a very happy little girl!!
> 
> The next chapter is already ready, with only some minor editing left to do, so sometime this weekend I'll probably post it!! It all depends on how I will produce, but idk, I'm pretty out of it these days because the kitten I'd jut rescued is in the hospital and not doing so well, so pray for Merlin for me you guys!!
> 
> Thank you for reading!! XOXO

**Author's Note:**

> I'm soooo sorry for killing Mark and Kieran like that, but I had to or the story wouldn't work!!! I'm really really sorry!!! Hope you guys like it!! Next chapter should come sometime next week!!!
> 
> Xoxo


End file.
